Early
in
2008, Director Jason Moore ("Avenue Q"), Production Designer Tim Hatley
("Spamalot"), and Aurora Productions Production Manager Gene O'Donovan
paid a visit to The Character Shop. The question they had was; "Does
The Character Shop have the chops to create a huge, glorious character for an upcoming smash
Broadway production?" The answer clearly, was a huge "YES!"

More than 6 months later, and after several evolutions of the design, TCS had created a ginormous, fabulous, animatronic Dragon puppet, a key character in the Dreamworks franchise' latest media triumph. In addition, TCS also created a slew of Puppets for the production's hilarious "Traveling Song" number, as well as the laugh-getting exploding Bird Puppet.

Combining
technical wizardy, incredible range of movement, rock-solid
dependability (6 shows per week!), and a heretofore unexplored flair
for theatrical,
TCS President Rick Lazzarini and his hard-working crew came up with an
impressive, 17 foot tall Pink Dragon who can appear both menacing and
flirtatious, while dancing up a storm!

The Dragon
boasts an impressive array of features: Eye Up/Down and Side/Side
Movement, WInking/Blinking Eyelids, Glowing Eyes, Jaw Action,
Head
Up/Down, Side/Side and Twist motions, full Neck Up/Down All the way to
the stage floor, and all the way up to 17 feet!), and a rolling, mobile
base. In addition, she sports a Co2 "Smoke Breathing" system, as
well
as a sophisticated video camera and monitor setup that lets her
operators
see where she is, and what she's looking at.

She's manipulated onstage during
the show by none other than amazing Puppeteer John Tartaglia ("Avenue
Q") , who really brings
her to life. While John is safety-harnessed in the top tier inside her
neck, hidden Stagehands roll and position her on stage.

Check
out the links to progress pages, movies, and pics, to see how she ticks!